In his new book, The Origins of Political Order, the author of the The End of History lays down the conditions required for a nation to become a democracy. He talks about his fears for our immediate future – but why he is still an optimist

Letters: How interesting to read, at this point, the thoughts of one of the founding neoconservatives who has all but abandoned neoconservative thinking and now speaks openly against the movement (Francis Fukuyama, Comment, January 31).

The Observer Profile: The latest offering from Francis Fukuyama, the writer whose analysis made sense of the post-Cold War era, tackles the world after the trauma of 11 September. And it looks a lot less rosy.

I would point out to Francis Fukuyama (The west has won, October 11) that Muslims hate the US not because it stands for democracy and capitalism, but because it supports dictatorship and occupation. The "existence of western civilisation" is not an object of hatred - double standards are.